On Oct. 27 one of the most influential songwriters of the century passed away. Unknown to many inside the Pace community, Lou Reed’s work with the Velvet Underground, collaborations, and solo albums set the stage for generations to come. He was best known for his song “Walk On The Wild Side.”
“It bums me out that a lot of people in our generation probably don’t know his name or who he was, but his influence on rock and roll will forever resonate in the music of those who know him and even those who don’t,” junior journalism major Farrah Lopez said.
Reed’s death was almost inevitable after he received a liver transplant last May, which was eventually the cause of his death. This came from a lifelong problem with drinking and drugs, he was 71 when he passed.
“Normally when you hear about celebrity deaths or anyone substantial dying you kind of get that momentary passé kind of shock and it hits you later, but I was immediately affected even for someone that I didn’t know and the fact that it happened out of nowhere made it even more difficult to cope with,” senior history major Andrew Linthwaite said.
Reed had been known to work with some of the biggest names in music like Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and, most recently, Metallica.
“When I heard he had passed away, I thought of every person I listen to who was close to him and their sadness only amplified mine,” Lopez said.
He made his final public appearance at the John Varvatos Presents Transformer event at the beginning of Oct., where Genesis Publications announced a limited edition book that photographically depicts his legendary album Transformer.
“I was that kid in high school that would bail on her last period class after a long day to listen Transformer in her boyfriend’s car. I was 15 years old when I first discovered a cassette tape of the Velvet Underground and Nico in my grandmother’s basement. Lou reed helped soundtrack my formative years,” senior media communications and visual arts major Marielle Iljazoski said.
My Two Cents:
It wasn’t until I got to Pace that I started listening to Reed. At the time I had been going through a lot of issues in my life and it was Reed’s musical genius that helped me sort it out. Even as a child driving around in my mom’s car listening to his song “Walk On The Wild Side,” I didn’t know what he was necessarily talking about, but I knew it was terribly catchy and it permanently ingrained into my mind.
This is the first time in my life that I’ve found myself mourning the death of someone who left such an outstanding impact on the rock and roll community. I think that the next two decades are going to bring nothing but sorrow to rock because of the legends that are aging. Paul McCartney is the same age as Reed and it’s interesting to think that it could have been him instead. Lou Reed was an icon and a legend, he will be greatly missed, and may he rest in peace.